I owe it to my genes, hard work- Elizabeth Banks on her beauty

Actress Elizabeth Banks feels blessed to have the beauty that she has today.

“I didn’t quite believe I was pretty for a long time. I never thought about it. I’m very genetically blessed, I cannot deny it,” eonline.com quoted her as saying.

Her fans may disagree with the blond beauty, who has appeared in movies such as “The Hunger Games” and “Pitch Perfect.”

In fact, she said her slim physique and beautiful face are the product of one thing only – genes.

“I’m very genetically blessed, I cannot deny it, but I work hard at keeping myself together,” she said. “Yes, I have nice cheekbones and skinny legs, but I can’t take any credit for it.”

She does, however, take credit for her candid expressions about sex, something she isn’t ashamed of and insisted no one else should be either.

“It’s a huge disservice to young people to put shame into the equation,” she said. “That’s what bothers me the most about it and why I speak so openly about sex.

“I promote safe sex, always, and abstinence until you are madly in love,” she said. “But at the same time I have no desire to shame any young person about what’s going on in their life or about general sexuality or their bodies.”

The mother-of-two knows a few things about dealing with youngsters, but still has some challenges all her own.

“Parenting is challenging any way you slice it,” the actress said about balancing her career demands with raising her sons Magnus and Felix with her husband of 11 years, Max Handelman.

But the challenge, according to Banks, is more of a mommy problem.

“I don’t think dads do it as well as moms, quite frankly, as I don’t think there’s any pressure on them to balance anything in their lives when it comes to parents being at work,” she said. “I try not to feel that pressure, either.”

Although it can be overwhelming, Banks keeps it simple.

“I balance it by always putting my children’s health and safety first,” she told the New You Magazine . “Then I feel OK to go and do the job I love.”

Part of that job is to make people laugh as Banks has had a lot of comedic success at the expense of “people in power.”

“Comedy often comes at the expense of other, and to do that smartly, you don’t want to make fun of vulnerable people,” the “30 Rock” actress described. “You want to make fun of people in power, and so you need to really understand the dynamics of power.”